Steam Railways Trip - Staycation 2021?

Well, it's January and the usual time to start to look forward to the summer and holidays. With Covid-19 still the main focus of everyone's thoughts, it may be too soon.

But. You need to think of something other than working from home (if you can, and I can) and spending 23 hours a day in the house with an hour for some exercise and to walk the dog.  Luckily we have things like TV and internet to pass some of it!  Even the drudge of walking around the supermarket has been taken away from many of us and we get groceries delivered.

So my attention at the moment is on getting away in the summer.  A summer that unlike last year won't be marred by cancellations and lockdowns. A summer that will be warm and sunny, Today's incessant rain and freezing cold banished for a few short weeks in July and August.

So steam railways.  We have one that passes right behind our house and we haven't been on it for a long time. So this summer that will be one of the things we need to do. It's the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway - mostly steam but they do have some diesels too.

Not too far away is the Kent and East Sussex Railway.  Another steam railway (although they also have diesels) and they run full size trains over a line that goes from Tenterden to Bodiam Castle.  We haven't been on that one for many years either. So there's another for the checklist.

Then a friend in the Meldrews bike club posted in the club's Facebook page about a steam railway in France. It is the Petit Train de la Haute Somme. It is the last section of the railways built to supply the front lines during WW1.  We have been a couple of times and seen the station but never been on the train!!!!! Another for the checklist?

One that we have been on that I would like to do again is the Chemin de Feu Baie de la Somme. It runs from St Valery sur Somme around the edge of the Somme estuary to Le Crotoy. There is an extension to Cayeux sur Mer in the summer. The last time we were there we didn't go on it as Reggie hates trains. The noise simply has him barking like mad!  

So that's four that we can put on the "to do" list.

But after watching a few "World's Greatest Train Journeys" on TV, I started to look for more in France.  It's our nearest neighbour and maybe even with the Brexit fiasco we might still be able to visit once in a while....

I found this site - Detours in France and another idea was born.....

On y va!